Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Redcar

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $2,400 in Redcar, rent and utilities included – about $14,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Phuket
🇹🇭 Thailand
$1,207
/mo nomad
Redcar
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
$2,400
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Redcar

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Phuket and in Redcar actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,207 in Phuket versus $2,400 in Redcar.

  • Phuket $1,207
  • Redcar $2,400

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Phuket versus $3,441 in Redcar.

  • Phuket $2,037
  • Redcar $3,441

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,867 in Phuket versus $4,482 in Redcar.

  • Phuket $2,867
  • Redcar $4,482

Living in Phuket costs roughly 50% less than in Redcar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Redcar is 78% above.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Phuket
Redcar
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$4.58 ฿153
$21.49 £16.12
-78.69%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$32.48 ฿1,086
$70.5 £52.9
-53.95%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$8.55 ฿286
$11.70 £8.78
-26.92%
Cappuccino
$2.72 ฿91.0
$3.55 £2.66
-23.38%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.94 ฿31.25
$2.37 £1.78
-60.34%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.49 ฿16.39
$1.94 £1.46
-74.74%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.59 ฿86.6
$4.67 £3.50
-44.54%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.83 ฿128
$4.20 £3.15
-8.81%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Phuket
Redcar
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.74 ฿58.1
$1.23 £0.92
41.46%
White Bread (500g)
$1.43 ฿47.82
$1.29 £0.97
10.85%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.53 ฿51.0
$3.58 £2.68
-57.26%
Eggs
$2.17 ฿72.7
$3.71 £2.78
-41.51%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$19.15 ฿640
$7.69 £5.77
149.02%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$3.30 ฿110
$6.96 £5.22
-52.59%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$11.14 ฿372
$7.50 £5.63
48.53%
Apples (1kg)
$2.95 ฿98.5
$3.29 £2.47
-10.33%
Banana (1kg)
$1.68 ฿56.1
$2.81 £2.11
-40.21%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.30 ฿76.8
$3.50 £2.62
-34.29%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.13 ฿71.3
$3.71 £2.78
-42.59%
Potato (1kg)
$1.53 ฿51.1
$1.72 £1.29
-11.05%
Onion (1kg)
$1.36 ฿45.55
$1.72 £1.29
-20.93%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.12 ฿37.44
$1.19 £0.90
-5.88%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.55 ฿18.24
$1.99 £1.49
-72.36%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.26 ฿142
$18.26 £13.70
-76.67%
Wine (Bottle)
$18.19 ฿608
$9.29 £6.97
95.80%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.74 ฿58.2
$4.75 £3.56
-63.37%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.79 ฿93.3
$3.65 £2.74
-23.56%
🚌 Getting Around
Phuket
Redcar
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$2.22 ฿74.1
$3.41 £2.56
-34.90%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$22.06 ฿737
$94.9 £71.2
-76.75%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$2.91 ฿97.3
$4.24 £3.18
-31.37%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.01 ฿33.79
$2.08 £1.56
-51.44%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$3.83 ฿128
$33.47 £25.11
-88.56%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.49 ฿49.85
$2.00 £1.50
-25.50%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$26.7K ฿891.6K
$38.2K £28.6K
-30.11%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$26.7K ฿892.7K
$39.4K £29.5K
-32.16%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Phuket
Redcar
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$99.4 ฿3,321
$351 £263
-71.69%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$11.28 ฿377
$25.75 £19.32
-56.19%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$17.36 ฿580
$45.24 £33.94
-61.63%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Phuket
Redcar
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$52.3 ฿1,747
$45.25 £33.95
15.56%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$10.85 ฿362
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$7.57 ฿253
$17.44 £13.09
-56.59%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Phuket
Redcar
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$558 ฿18.7K
$793 £595
-29.59%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$11.5K ฿383.9K
$21.9K £16.4K
-47.61%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Phuket
Redcar
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$62.9 ฿2,102
$109 £81.8
-42.34%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$28.58 ฿955
$55.8 £41.85
-48.76%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$96.1 ฿3,213
$111 £83.5
-13.64%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$88.1 ฿2,943
$113 £85.0
-22.27%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Phuket
Redcar
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$729 ฿24.4K
$1,235 £926
-40.92%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$460 ฿15.4K
$1,013 £760
-54.61%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,096 ฿70.0K
$2,108 £1,581
-0.56%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,222 ฿40.8K
$1,628 £1,221
-24.91%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,459 ฿115.6K
$4,991 £3,745
-30.70%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$2,489 ฿83.2K
$3,911 £2,934
-36.37%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Phuket
Redcar
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$493 ฿16.5K
-
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
5.57
5.53
0.72%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Last update for Redcar: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Phuket
$460
Redcar
$1K 120% $553
Groceries & Markets
Phuket
$268
Redcar
$287 7.4% $20
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Phuket
$128
Redcar
$422 230% $294
Clothing & Footwear
Phuket
$124
Redcar
$175 41.3% $51
Eating Out
Phuket
$121
Redcar
$299 146% $177
Sport & Entertainment
Phuket
$67
Redcar
$80 18.9% $13
Getting Around
Phuket
$39
Redcar
$123 217% $84

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $729 in Phuket and $1,235 in Redcar. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $32.00 in Phuket vs $71.0 in Redcar for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $268 vs $287 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇹🇭 Phuket
🇬🇧 Redcar
🕒 Local time
16:16 4:16 PM
10:16 10:16 AM
6 h behind Phuket
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
79,308
36,000
💱 Currency
Thai Baht THB ฿
Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Phuket Redcar 9,900 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Phuket
  • Redcar

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.
Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index
Phuket vs Redcar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Redcar cheaper than Phuket?
Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 99% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.
What income do you need for each city?
You'd need roughly $1,811 in Phuket and $3,600 in Redcar to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.
What is the rent difference between Phuket and Redcar?
Rent for a central apartment: $729 in Phuket versus $1,235 in Redcar. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Which city has cheaper kindergarten?
Childcare runs $558 in Phuket versus $793 in Redcar. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
How do food prices compare in Phuket and in Redcar?
Supermarket bills run roughly 7% higher in Redcar. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
Is $1,500 a realistic budget for living in Phuket or in Redcar?
At $1,207 in Phuket versus $2,400 in Redcar, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Redcar. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
Is Phuket or Redcar more family-friendly?
For families, Phuket is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Redcar, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.
Which city is safer, Phuket or Redcar?
Safety-wise, Phuket and Redcar are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.
Which city is easier to live in as a foreigner?
Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 99% less than in Redcar. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

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